Cap or closure for containers



Dec. l1, 1962 N. B. LERER 3,067,916

CAP OR CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 8, 1958 INVENTOR.

United States Patentlice 3,067,916 Patented Dec. 11, 1962 3,067,916 CAPR CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Nathan B. Lerner, Chicago, Ill., assigner to W.Braun Co., Chicago, Ill., a co-partnership Filed Dec. 8, 1958, Ser. No.778,693 1 Claim. (Cl. 222-519) This invention relates to a cap orclosure for containers and the like.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a cap or closure forcontainers which effectively seals the container and which is providedwith a spout opening which is in a plane substantially at right anglesto the longitudinal axis of the closure and the container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cap or closure of theforegoing character which is used for dispensing liquids fromcontainers.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cap or closure which isheld captive to the container, which may be integrally formed or moldedin'a single operation, which is inexpensive to manufacture and which iseasy to use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cap or closure whichserves to seal the container and which is provided with a laterallydisposed discharge spout opening at substantially right angles to thelongitudinal axis of the cap and the container so that the contents ofthe con# tainer may be discharged by a slight tilting of the container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cap or closure of theforegoing character which provides a corking closure forl the container.

In the drawings: i

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the closure or cap applied tothe container. A

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken on lines 2 2 ofFIGURE 1 with the closure or cap in sealing position.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 with the closure or cap inposition to permit the contents of the container to be dischargedthrough the spout of the closure or cap.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the closure or cap.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIGUR 2 with a modifiedcap construction, and

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modied cap construction.

The structure shown in FIGURES 1 to 4 inclusive will be rst described.The cap or closure 10l is molded preferably of a resilient plasticmaterial, such as polyethylene, plasticized nylon, plasticized acrylicresins, plasticized vinyl resins, and the like, and is adapted to litover the neck of any conventional bottle or container for dispensing thecontents from the container.

As illustrated, the conventional container generally indicated at 12 hasa neck 14, a portion of which is provided with a helical thread 16. Theneck above and below the threaded portion is designated at 18 and 20respectively and same has a smooth surface, not being threaded. The neckis provided with the usual discharge opening 22 communicating with theinterior of the bottle or container through which the liquid contents ofthe container is discharged. The container 12 just described isconventional in the art and no invention is claimed therein.

The cap or closure 10 forming this invention comprises a tubular bodyportion 24 which is provided with an internal helical shaped thread 26to engage the helical thread 16 of the neck 14 of the container. Theupper part of the tubular body portion 24 is slightly enlarged as at 28to provide a wall surface of a slightly greater diameter than thetubular body portion 24. The lower portion of the tubular body portion24 is provided with an inwardly extending lip or bead 25 which extendsinwardly of the edges of the thread and said lip or bead 25 will engagethe lowermost portion of the threads 16 to hold the cap 10 captive onthe neck of the container and prevent removal therefrom. The cap mayhowever be rotated sutilciently to permit raising the cap suliicientlyto unseal and uncover the discharge opening 22 of the container. Whilethe inner periphery of the lip or bead 25 is inward of the outer edgesof the threads 16 of the neck 14 of the container, the character of theplastic material from which the cap is made will permit the cap to givesuliciently to permit the lip or bead 25 to pass over the threads wheninitially securing the cap to the neck of the container. If a removablecap is desired, the lip or bead 25 may be eliminated.

Extending across the top of the cap is a top portion 30 which alsoextends horizontally forward of the enlarged annular portion 28 and alsoinclines or tapers inwardly as at 32. The enlarged tubular wall portion28 of the body also extends forwardly and tapers inwardly at 34 and isjoined by a forwardly extending lower lip 36 to form a spout generallyindicated at 38 having a generally rectangular shaped opening 40` whichcommunicates with the interior of the cap.

It will be seen that the discharge outlet 4t) of the spout 38 issidewise of the body of the cap, that is, the spout outlet 40 is in aplane substantially at right angles to-the longitudinal axis of theclosure. The longitudinal axis of the cap is designatedl -by the lineA-A in FIGURE 2. This feature is Very important since by tilting thecon'- taner, the liquid contents are funneled to the discharge openingof the spout and is discharged in a plane at approximately right anglesto the longitudinal axis of the closure, as well as to the container.This permits pouring through the spout by a slight tilting orinclination of the container from the vertical, as contrasted to thehorizontal pouring position necessary in prior art structures where thedischarge opening is through the top of the closure, i.e. where thedischarge outlet of the closure is in a vertical plane parallel with theaxis ofthe closure and the container, such as shown in Patent No.2,463,152 which is directed to a cap for a collapsible tube and is notapplicable for liquids.

The top portion 30 of the cap is provided with a centrally positionedannular depressed portion 42 which forms an inner annular boss 44extending into the cap interior below the top. The boss'44 is adapted tomake a seal tight fitting engagement with the top of the neck of thecontainer to close the neck when the cap is in closed position on saidneck to prevent discharge of the liquid from said container, as bestshown in FIGURE 2.

The enlarged body portion 28 of the cap is provided with a transverseopening 46 communicating with the interior of the cap. When the cap isin closed position as shown in FIGURE 2, the opening 46 is below the topof the neck of the container and is closed by the upper wall of the neckof the container so that in eiect the opening 46 is sealed when the capis in closed position. However, when it is desired to discharge theliquid from the container, the cap is rotated slightly to its raisedposition, as shown in FIGURE 3, and in this position the annular boss 44of the cap is displaced from the upper edge of the neck and thetransverse opening 46 is above the neck of the container to permit airto enter into the cap, and by tilting the container the liquid in thecontainer is discharged through the spout 38 of the cap.

With applicants arrangement of the air opening 46 in relation to thespout 38 and sealing means 44, the air opening is uncoveredsimultaneously with the unsealing of the discharge outlet of -thecontainer, thus by a slight turning of the cap the cap is in a positionto be used as a spout for the discharge of the contents of thecontainer. After thus used, the cap may be rotated to the position asshown in FIGURE 2 to seal the container..

The cap construction shown in FIGURE 5 is similar to the constructionshown in FIGURES 1 to 4 and will not be described except for thedifference. In this construction the top portion 30 of the cap isprovided with a downwardly extending annular boss 44 which extends belowthe plane of the discharge end of the spout 38 and said boss 44 extendsinto the neck of the container a greater distance than the distance ofthe boss 44 shown in FIGURES 1 to 4 inclusive. This construction is usedpreferably on liquid bottles or containers where a corking effect isdesired and where it is desired to discharge the liquid rnore slowly.The rate of discharge may be more effectively controlled dependent onthe position of the boss 44 in relation to the neck, for example, byrotating the cap slightly to raise it in relation to the outlet end ofthe container a smaller passage is provided for the outlet of the liquidfrom the container through the spout which may be increased by rotatingthe cap to a greater degree.

The modication shown in FIGURE 6 twill now be described. The container50` has a neck 52 provided with an outwardly extending beaded portion54. The cap or closure generally indicated at 56 comprises a tubularbody portion 5S, the lower end of which is provided with an inwardlyextending lip or bead 60 adapted to engage the bead 54 of the containerto prevent removal of the cap and hold same captive to the container.Extending inwardly from the body is a top portion 62 which continuesdownwardly to form an annular wall 64 parallel with the tubular bodyportion 58. The annular wall 64 continues to form a horizontal wall 66.The cap is provided with a discharge spout 68 similar to that previouslydescribed.

The tubular body 58 is provided with an air opening 70 below the planeof the spout 68.

The cap shown in FIGURE 6 is applied to the neck of the container sothat the annular wall 64 is received lwithin the neck of the containerand engages same. The annular wall 64 and horizontal wall 66 acts as acork for the container. The cap shown has a sliding tit with the neck ofthe container and by raising the cap so that the horizontal wall 66clears the upper portion of the neck, the discharge opening of thecontainer is unsealed so that the liquid Vfrorn the container may bepoured through the spout 68. If desired, the cap shown in FIGURE 6 maybe provided with internal threads to engage the threaded neck of acontainer, similar to that shown in the previous gures, in which easethe cap is rotated with respect to the neck instead of sliding same, asshown.

While this invention in the forms shown is best suited for dispensingliquids of any viscosity from a container, it may also be used fordispensing pastes of any character, and where so used the air opening inthe cap may be eliminated.

The cap shown in the drawings may be integrally molded in a singlemolding operation and requires no assembly of parts. It serves toeffectively seal the container and permits the contents to be dischargedthrough a spout which extends laterally and forwardly of the cap. It iseconomical to produce and very efficient in operation.

It will be understood that various changes and modiications may be madefrom the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claim.

I claim:

A one piece cap for a container for material, which container has athreaded neck portion and a discharge opening with an inside annularwall coextensive with the internal diameter of the neck, said cap havinga continuous and uninterrupted tubular body provided with a continuousand uninterrupted thread cooperating with the threaded neck, saidtubular body having an enlargement at the upper end, a substantially attop wall portion extending across the top of said enlargement, said topwall portion and said enlargement continuing laterally and forwardly ofsaid tubular body and converging towards its forward end to form alaterally extending discharge spout which extends laterally of saidtubular body and laterally beyond any portion of said tubular body withthe discharge opening of said spout being in a plane substantially atright angles `to the longitudinal axis of said body, said at top wallportion is of uniform thickness and extends laterally outward to formthe top of the spout, said top wall portion has an integrally formedcentral sealing projection projecting into the discharge opening of thecontainer below the top of said discharge opening to engage the insideannular wall of the neck inwardly of the discharge opening for closingsaid container when said closure is in closed position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,519,347 Anderson Dec. 16, 1924 1,913,274 Hayden June 6, 1933 2,267,754Schroeder Dec. 30, 1941 2,463,152 Clark Mar. 1, 1949 2,790,582 HalpernApr. 30, 1957 2,805,800 Malick et al Sept. 10, 1957

